Five-star Arsenal shoot down Burnley to stay close to Liverpool

Arteta standard formation is 4-3-3
no doubt about that

but one the aspects of the modern game, which Arteta is particularly good at, is formations for different phases of play and/or opponent

so while there is no doubt we line up 4-3-3 on paper every week, we do see an inverted full back come up in to midfield when we transition in to attack

so perhaps that is where GIA is coming from with his formation

Arteta’s out-of-possession formation that was so very very effective against Liverpool saw a pair #10’s deployed on the high press for a formation like 4-4-2 but not in the traditional sense

sometimes we cramp ourselves by trying to stick to the traditional #6, #8, #9 roles – these are perhaps outdated concepts belonging to a by-gone era of simpler football

today we see multiple formations deployed in the same game depending on the phase of play and state of the game

the other development football of yester year did not see is rotations of players within a given formation and players able to play multiple roles/positions

this is evident in Arteta/Edu recruitment over the summer, Rice can play a deep #6 or attacking #8, Timber inverted-fullback on either side and also centre back, Havertz #8 #9 or #10 sometimes all 3 in the one game, even Raya as he can lead attacks from the very back as well shot-stopping

so perhaps be a little less stringent about formation numbers etc, we can see what Arteta is trying to do and the players doing it, and it is working very well